Heros
by TOG84
Summary: Adrien has had his whole life planned for him since his mother dissipated. No important decisions have been left to him. He's a caged bird, longing for freedom, and his father intends to keep it that way. Someone has other planes, it seems, as a black cat shows up with a mysterious ring saying Adrien has been chosen.
1. Chapter 1

Ch1 The Black Cat

(secundo capturam)

Adrien's ever-present smile, practiced and perfect, vanished the moment he heard the door latch. His mask was gone. He slumped against the door. The image of the perfect attentive son and perpetually good-humored model left behind. This was his space. His refuge. Here, he could be himself. Here, he was Adrien: gamer, anime fan, physics nerd, complete and utter geek. All the things his father didn't approve of as part of his 'image'.

Memories of his last conversation with his father kept echoing in his mind, threatening to push him over the edge.

" _Father, I was hoping to talk to you about university again…"_

" _I don't believe there is anything to discuss."_

" _I… I know that…"_

" _If you have something to say, say it. I am a busy man."_

" _I know that you hope that one day I would take over the brand, but that's not what I want. I think I want to teach. I want to study physics and education. I've already been accepted to programs for both."_

" _Is that all you have to say?"_

" _Yes, I guess it is."_

" _Now that is out of the way, we can put it behind us. You will do what is expected of you. You will study business and you will take over the brand when I retire."_

" _But, Father-"_

" _I have given you everything, if you wish to leave, you will be on your own. And we both know how far you will make it alone."_

" _Yes, Father."_

" _I do not want to hear of this again. I expect you in the office first thing Monday morning."_

Adrien knew that if he didn't stop himself, he would go crazy replaying the conversation in his head. He needed a distraction, and he knew just where to look. He set his bag on the coffee table and logged into his computer. His online friends could always lift his spirits.

It didn't matter that he didn't know their real names, it just mattered that they listened him without judgement. He could share anything with them without fear of shame or reprisal. He loved hearing about their normal lives; about school, work, even family gatherings. They thought it was weird, but only teased a little and readily included him in any conversation.

When he realized none of them were online, his head hit the desk. Once again, he was alone.

Leaving his desk, he climbed the stairs to his game library. He didn't see a point in any of them. He moved on to his anime shelves and grabbed a disk at random, went back down, and put it in the player. Anything now would be better than the silence.

Sitting on the couch he tried to pay attention to the movie, but his mind wouldn't stop running over the confrontation, adding more and more past events to the heap. Completely ignoring the television, he slumped forward, cradling his forehead in his hands. He was going to lose it. A growl escaped his lips as he gripped his hair.

"When will I be able to do what _I_ want!" Adrien railed into the silence. "My _Father_ has kept me caged up since Mom disappeared. I've never been able to do anything on my own!" His voice softened. "I've never even been allowed to try."

That thought triggered another in his mind. Was he doing it on purpose? Was Gabriel intentionally keeping him dependent? But, to what end? And then it hit him. Control. Gabriel was obsessed with controlling everything around him. From his company to his household, everything ran the way Gabriel wanted it. That need for control extended to his son as well.

When his mother was still with them, he was able to do what he wanted, be who he wanted to be. His mother couldn't be controlled. But she was gone, and Adrien didn't know how to escape his father.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, curled in on himself. The anger and frustration slowly giving way to despair. Sobs rocked his body as he wept. Bitter tears stained his cheeks.

When it felt like there were no more tears to cry, Adrien took a couple of shaky breaths to steady himself. Sitting up, he dried his face and flopped back on the couch. As his head hit the back of the couch, he felt his gaze being pulled to his desk. At first nothing seemed out of place. Then, slowly, as if someone was adjusting the focus on a lens, a small black box came into view. He quickly stood and crossed to the desk.

'How long had that been there?'

He picked up, what appeared to be a jewelry box. It was a hexagon shaped box with a black finish, streaked with a red wood grain, and a red design on top.

The desk underneath was discolored, indicating it had sat there for quite some time. He tentatively opened it. Inside was a black ring. The band of the ring was larger, and it had a circular face, much like a signet ring, with four claws holding it on the diagonal corners. In the center of the face was a bright green paw print.

Slowly, Adrien extended his hand to remove the ring from the box. The moment he touched it, there was a blinding flash of green light. As Adrien's vision cleared, he noticed the ring was now silver, and the pawprint was gone. He finished his motion retrieving the ring when the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on end.

He was not alone anymore…

Someone was standing right behind him…

Every muscle in Adrien's body tensed and then instantly loosened as he spun and dropped into a defensive stance. And then froze.

Standing in front of him was… a man? He mostly looked like a man. He was tall, wearing a tailored, black three-piece suit with a white ascot. The suit was completed by black dress shoes and black gloves. His skin was pale but not sickly looking. He had black hair and vibrant green eyes.

And that was where the resemblance to a man ended.

Instead of human ears, he had cat ears perched on the top of his head and swishing behind him Adrien could see a feline tail. Topping it off, his green eyes were slit with vertical cat like pupils. He stood there looking at Adrien with a curious expression in his eyes. He tilted his head to the side, just like a cat studying something.

And then he spoke.

"Well, hello Adrien. It's about time we met. I've been sleeping in there for ages. It's been forever since I had a decent bit of cheese. You wouldn't happen to have any around, would you?" His voice was high pitched and a bit nasally.

"What… Who… How… Cheese?" Adrien spluttered, not able to form a coherent thought.

"I'll answer those in reverse order." He held up a hand with four fingers raised. "Cheese: because, who doesn't love cheese? It is one of the greatest things you humans have ever created. Especially my precious camembert." He lowered one finger. "How: you brought me in. That ring you're holding right there is called a Miraculous and is a form of conduit to channel my power." He lowered another finger. "Who: my name is Plagg," he said lowering a third finger. "And finally, what: I am a Kwami. A magical being who has bound my power to Miraculous to help protect the world from the great dangers that threaten it. I am the embodiment of destruction." He lowered his hand and asked, "Now, how about that camembert?"

Adrien picked his jaw up off the floor as he tried to process all this information.

"This can't be real. I must be dreaming. Or, I'm having a complete nervous breakdown. All of the stress and stuff… Yeah that's it," he mumbled to himself.

"Sorry, kid." He cut him off. "You're most definitely awake and you're not suffering a breakdown. I'm real as you are."

"So, Plagg was it?" Plagg nodded in the affirmative. "Supposing I believe all of the things you're saying, and that's kind of asking a lot, I just have a couple more questions." His brow furrowed, and he looked up at the Kwami.

When the question was not forthcoming, Plagg inclined his head and said, "Go on…"

"Why are you here? Why are you in my room? Why do I have this ring?" Adrian asked as he began pacing in front of his desk.

Plagg smirked. "Well the answer to all of those is basically the same." He strode over and sat on the back of the couch stretching his legs and crossed his ankles in front of himself. He crossed his arms over his chest before he continued. "You have been chosen to be the holder of the black cat miraculous. You will be given the power of destruction with which you will protect people from things too powerful to be contained by ordinary means."

Adrien flopped into his desk chair, once again trying to make sense of what he just heard. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, let me get this straight. You want me to, what, become a superhero? How in the world would I even begin to go about doing that? Why me?"

Plagg chuckled. "Yeah kid, essentially. You put on that ring you are basically signing a contract with me. I will give you power and you help me protect the chosen of creation," Plagg said, standing back up. "You were chosen because you are truly a good person. You are kind and caring and selfless. You are willing to give up your own happiness and comfort so that others may be happy." Plagg walked over and put his hand on Adrien's shoulder. "I've been watching you for years now. I've seen it all. Honestly, you're almost too giving, but we can work on that. You will hold the power of destruction, so you must be mindful of your actions. That is why you were chosen." He patted the younger man's shoulder.

Adrien rolled the ring between his fingers. It all began to sink in. If he was in fact not dreaming, if this wasn't some mental break, then how could he say no? But, how could he do what Plagg was asking him with his father controlling his whole life?

As if reading his mind, Plagg interjected, "Another benefit here, kid. Freedom! You deserve to get out from under your old man's thumb… at least a little."

Adrien's mouth turned up a little at the corners. 'This just gets more and more appealing.' he thought. And then something else Plagg said struck him. "What do you mean by the chosen of creation?"

Plagg chuckled, "I was wondering if you'd catch that. You are the chosen of destruction. I am one of the two most powerful Kwami. The other is the Kwami of creation. She's my other half, my partner," his expression turned wistful and he added, "my mate." After a small pause, Plagg shook his head and continued, "Her chosen will wield the power of creation; they can fix whatever we break. It's a lot more complicated, but we don't really need to go into specifics. As with all my previous kittens, the burden of protecting and supporting the chosen of creation falls to you," he paused and looked Adrien in the eye, "if you accept it... You will be their partner and comrade. Do you understand?" Adrien nodded slowly. "Good, now put that ring on and we can start getting you used to your powers."

Adrien took one last look at the ring before he began to slip it onto his right ring finger. At first it seemed like it was too small, but, as he continued to slide it on, it's grew to be the perfect fit. "Woah! That's amazing." Adrien breathed in astonishment.

"Now just say…" Plagg was cut off by a swift knock at the door. There was a slight sound of a hand on the door knob and the room was once again flooded with green light. When the flash faded, Adrien saw a blur of black dart under his desk as the door opened. In the doorway stood Nathalie Sancoeur, his father's assistant.

"Adrien, dinner is ready in the dining room," she said, just as cold and emotionless as his father.

"Thank you, Nathalie, I'm not hungry right now. I need to be alone for a bit." He channeled all the emotion from the past hour into his words and expression. Luckily for him his eyes were still puffy and a little red. "I'll come down and get something later."

"Very well," she said with an edge of concern in her voice. She stepped out and closed the door.

Adrien dropped down and looked under his desk. There, he found a black cat with a large white spot on its chest. "Plagg?" he questioned.

"In the flesh, kid." The cat spoke with Plagg's voice.

"What are you?" Adrien asked, shock and amazement spread across his face.

"I'm a cat sidhe. A shape changer." He walked out from under the desk. "This is my true form. I chose the other form 'cause you humans tend to respond to it better. I swear, one talking cat and everyone's screaming and running around." Plagg sat down and began grooming himself.

After a moment Adrien shook his head to regain his composure, "You were going to tell me how to use this." He held up his hand and gestured to the ring with his other.

Plagg looked up and cocked his head to the side the exact way human Plagg had. "Oh yeah! Just say 'Claws Out'. I'll join with the ring and you will be transformed."

"That simple, huh?" Adrien said looking at the ring. "All right. Plagg! Claws Out!"

With that he was engulfed in green light as he felt power surge over his body from head to toe. The sensation was exhilarating. He was filled to brimming with nervous energy. He had to go. He had to move. His eyes were scanning the room for the best way out when he caught his reflection in a full-length mirror and froze.

He dashed closer to get a better look at what he was now wearing. It was a form fitting leather jumpsuit with a silver bell attached to the zipper that went down the front, and around his waist was a black belt with a silver clasp. Over that he wore a leather trench coat with a high collar. It fit close to his torso, but from the waistline hung loose to his ankles. His feet were covered in high cuffed boots with a rounded silver toe. The sleeves of the coat were cuffed, and his hands were covered in clawed gloves.

When he reached his face, he gasped. Over his eyes he wore a black domino mask, but that isn't what caught his attention. His eyes weren't human anymore. His pupils were no longer round, but vertical slits, and his sclera were no longer white, but a slightly different green than his natural eye color.

Finally pulling his gaze away from his eyes, he noticed that, on top of his head, he had black leather cat ears. As he noticed them, they shot up just like a surprised cat. As if that wasn't enough, he noticed movement behind him. Turning, he saw, emerging from slit up the back of the trench coat, a long belt that swished back and forth, just like a tail. He had cat ears and a tail.

"Well, I guess that makes sense. Plagg is a cat," Adrien said into the silence.

Having taken in his 'uniform' fully, the urge to go and run began to take hold again. He grabbed his smart remote and opened one of his windows. Approaching the window, he reached under his coat and retrieved a metal rod that had been attached to his belt.

Once again, he was caught off guard. How did he know the rod, 'baton' he corrected himself, was there? How did he know it was a baton? How did he know that if he swiped the right spot a screen would open that worked an awful lot like his smartphone? How did he know that if he willed the baton to grow it would extend into a staff and can grow nearly infinitely? This super power thing was so strange.

He extended the staff and planted one end on the ground and launched himself out of the window. It was a rush, soaring through the air, running across the rooftops of Paris, leaping from building to building. He hurtled through the air growing more and more daring with each leap. He flipped over gaps and dove under railings. He felt so free. It was a feeling he had craved ever since his mother disappeared and his father had sealed him off from the world. He couldn't help the smile plastered on his face the whole time.

He eventually found himself at the top of the Eiffel Tower looking around at the city of his birth. The city he had lived in his whole life. The city he hadn't been permitted to know. He was going to get to know this city, his city, now. He couldn't wait to get started.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2 The Designer

"Marinette," a voice called out of the darkness, pulling her out of the warm embrace of oblivion.

"Marinette," again, the voice drew her further out of her blissful slumber.

"Marinette! You need to wake up!" The voice was now a more familiar one. "It's getting late. You've got your internship tomorrow. If you don't leave now you won't be able to get up in the morning."

"Five more minutes, Luka." She said blearily.

"You told me that when your alarm went off I had to make you leave," Luka explained, as Marinette felt a gentle hand caress her cheek, "I'm not sure you planned on falling asleep on me though."

Marinette blinked her eyes several times to bring the world back into focus. As it did, her boyfriend's blue hair and eyes swam into view. He gave her one of his patented sweet smiles that made her heart melt a little. "You really should get going, you don't want to be exhausted for your first day."

"Remind me why I can't just stay here tonight?" She grabbed the blanket laying across her legs and pulled it up over her head.

"As much as I would love that, you know I'm not ready for that yet. Me and Shell were…"

She cut him off pulling down the blanket and waving her hands in front of herself, "I know, I get it. You lived together, and she broke your heart." She huffed. "We've been dating for almost two years now. How long is your ex going to rule _our_ relationship?"

"Look, we can talk about this later. You need to head out." He leaned in placing a chaste kiss on her lips, pulling away before she had a chance to turn it into anything more. "Anyway, you only made it through, like, a quarter of the movie. You owe me a redo."

She cocked her eyebrow shooting him a stern look, "I'm holding you to that." Realizing sleep was a lost cause until she was back in her bed at home, Marinette gathered her things and turned to Luka. He stepped toward her putting his hands on her hips and pulling her closer. She brought her arms around his neck and he slid his around her back as their foreheads came together.

"You know I love you, right?" Luka asked with his soft smile.

Marinette smirked, "Likely story." She giggled as he looked slightly hurt. "I love you too." This time as their lips met she didn't let him get away with a simple peck. She held him close and deepened the kiss and he followed suit. When they parted, slightly breathless, Marinette hummed contentedly, "I could do that all day."

"Me too, love, but right now you need to get going." He gave her one more peck before pushing her away.

"Do I have to?" she moaned as he pushed her to the door.

"You practically made me swear a blood oath." He chuckled. He opened the door and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Be safe. Text me when you get home."

"Ok. Love you."

"Love you too, now go." He gave her one final push and shut the door.

She checked her phone before beginning her trek home. 10:30… _Wow, it took Luka a full 30 minutes to get me to leave. I'm glad I set my alarm earlier than I need to_ , she mused, and started for home. The walk was largely uneventful. Being alone, at this time of night, wasn't the safest thing ever, but she stayed to the well-lit and well-traveled areas and didn't encounter any complications.

Once home, she texted Luka to let him know she go home safe. Her parents were already in bed, they always got up obscenely early to prep and open the bakery. She took a shower and laid out her outfit for the morning. She chose an outfit that said professional, but still allowed her personality to show through.

With one last check to make sure everything she needed for the morning was in order, she climbed the stairs to her loft bed, snuggled down into her covers, and stared at the ceiling wide awake.

She felt an odd urge to check her vanity, which made absolutely no sense to her. After fighting with herself for what felt like hours, really about a minute, she gave in and crawled to the edge of her bed. She peeked over the rail and looked a down at her perfectly normal vanity. _What was that all about?_ She thought as she moved to get back under the covers, but she was halted by a tingling in the back of her head. She found her eyes locked back on her vanity, there was definitely something off there, she just couldn't put her finger on it.

The tingle grew to an itch on the inside of her skull as she leaned further over the railing of her bed to try and see what was different, what was causing this sensation. The itching spread and grew more intense, pushing her to lean further and further over the railing. It became all-encompassing causing her to freeze for a moment.

In an instant, the itching faded and with it, a fog Marinette was never aware of, was lifted from her vision. On her vanity she saw a small black box that she had never noticed before. Just after she noticed the box, she also saw how far out she was leaning. As she began to shift to maneuver herself back onto the safety of her bed, her hand slipped, and she went tumbling to the floor.

Laying in a heap, she groaned as she began to untangle herself. _Nothing seems to be broken_. She felt an ache in her shoulders. _I'm definitely going to be sore_. Pain shot through her head as she turned too quickly. She blinked twice to clear her vision. _And have a headache_. After a moment she remembered the reason she fell in the first place. Still on her hands and knees, she crawled over to her vanity. She peeked over the edge. Sure enough, the odd box was still there. Right in the back. Out of the way, apparently.

Marinette slowly stood, never taking her eyes off the box. She reached out and gently touched it. _Definitely real._ She couldn't decide if that was comforting or terrifying. She picked it up. It was about the size of a medium jewelry box, black with red trim, and a red symbol on top.

Squeezing her eyes shut, then lifted the lid…

Nothing happened…

She waited another second…

Still nothing…

She slowly opened one eye.

Inside the box was a pair of earrings. They were red with five black spots each. Marinette opened her other eye and examined the box and earrings more closely, "Well this is odd," she said as she began to reach for one of the earrings, "where did you come fro…" As her finger touched the piece of jewelry a blinding pink flash momentarily filled the room. Momentarily blinded, Marinette began to hear the strangest sound. _Is that tiny bells tinkling?_

When her vision cleared, Marinette found herself face to face with a gigantic flying bug. "Ahhhhh," she screamed, "Giant bug! Get away!" she flailed wildly and quickly retreated, the bug flying after her the whole way, until she tripped over her chaise. Once again on the floor, a strange thought occurred to Marinette, is the bug talking to me?

"Marinette," the bug said, it was in fact talking to her, "You have to stop screaming, you'll wake up your parents, and no one must know about me." The bug pleaded.

It was then that Marinette noticed two things: one, the bell sound she heard earlier was coming from the bug instead of the normal sound of insect wings; and two, the bug wasn't a bug at all… well not entirely at least. It looked mostly like a very small woman. She wore a beautiful flowing red gown and her flaming red hair was tied in loose ponytail and draped over her shoulder. Her skin was a light caramel color that seemed to sparkle when even the faintest light touched it. Her feet were bare, and on her back, she had what appeared to be a ladybug's shell and black ladybug wings, buzzing rapidly, keeping her aloft. She was reaching toward Marinette with her four long graceful arms, holding Marinette's gaze with her piercing blue eyes.

Four tiny hands gently held the sides of Marinette's face, "Please calm down," the not bug said, "I can explain everything."

A sound from her trap door told Marinette that she had, in fact woken her parents up. The not bug landed, her wings tucking in and shell covering them. She quickly hid from view as the trap door opened and Sabine, Marinette's mother, poked her head into the room.

"Is everything all right dear?" she asked as she scanned the room for her daughter. Her brow knitted in concern when she saw Marinette picking herself up off the floor, "are you okay?" she rushed over and helped her daughter up.

"I'm fine Maman," Marinette said dismissively, "I just thought I saw a bug and I panicked and tripped."

"Well, as long as you're all right," she patted Marinette's cheek, "now, shouldn't you be sleeping?" she lifted one eyebrow, "you have a big day tomorrow."

"Maman, I'm eighteen," Marinette whined, "you don't need to treat me like a little girl anymore."

"But sweety," Sabine smiled softly, "you'll always be my little girl," Marinette rolled her eyes as Sabine got up and headed to the trap door, "now get some sleep," she left closing the door behind her.

Marinette watched the door for a moment, hoping that the not bug thing would be gone and she could go back to sleep. She scanned the room, and, to her dismay, her eyes landed on the jewelry box laying on the floor by her vanity, right where she dropped it. She finally let herself look to where she knew the not bug was hiding. To her credit, she seemed to be waiting patiently for Marinette to be ready to talk.

"Um…" Marinette started, "What… um… who…." She shifted uncomfortably.

"Maybe this will help," the not bug said just before there was another flash of pink light. When Marinette's vision cleared again, the small not bug thing was gone, she had grown until she was just a bit taller than Marinette. She no longer had the sell or wings, and she only had one pair of arms. Her skin still shimmered, but not as intensely as before, "perhaps this will put you more at ease," Marinette stared, her mouth agape, for a full minute, "or perhaps not…"

Marinette shook her head, "No!" she shouted, then clasped her hands over her mouth. She inhaled deeply, counted to three, and let it out again, putting down her hands, "I'm okay," she glanced at the woman then back down at her lap "What… what are you?"

The woman giggled, "Well, there are two answers to that question," she stood and walked in front of Marinette, "One is, I am a pixie, humans sometimes also call me a fairy."

"But pixies are made up," Marinette rubbed her head, "I must have hit my head harder than I thought when I fell…"

"This isn't a hallucination, Marinette," the woman said, and not waiting for a response, carried on, "I am also something called a kwami," she walked over to the fallen jewelry box, picking it up "We are magical creatures that have chosen to tie our power to these items called miraculous," she walked back to Marinette and opened the box. The earrings looked different now. They were still the same shaped stud, but now they were a dark grey, "these earrings are my miraculous. They allow me to give my powers to a human so that they can defend the world."

"Not a hallucination, so it must be a dream," Marinette was still trying to cope with all of the new information.

"Also, not a dream Marinette." Marinette's gaze snapped up to the woman.

"How do you know my name?" She tried her best to be stern.

"I've known your name since you were chosen, Marinette," The woman said, "and my name, so we are on more equal footing, is Tikki."

"Chosen?" Marinette's brow knitted together in confusion, "What have _I_ been chosen for?"

"You've been chosen to be the next holder of the Ladybug Miraculous," Tikki held out the open jewelry box to Marinette, "just put the earrings on, and you can speak the command word and you'll be grnated the power to defend those you love."

"There's gotta be a mistake," Marinette shifted uneasily, "why I be picked for something like that?" Marinette's eye's shifted back and forth between Tikki and the earrings, "I'm just a design student. I'm care about fashion, and cloths, and video games…"

"And your family and friends," Tikki interrupted her, "you selflessly give up your time for others, you help any way you can, many times to your own detriment."

"But I'm…"

"Who did your class pick as their representative all through college and licee?"

"Me, but…"

"Who stood up to Chloe enough times that she realized that she was pushing everyone away?"

"How did you…"

"And who made pastries at least once a week for her whole class?"

"Me! But what does…"

"Marinette," Tikki stooped her with a hand, "you are constantly putting everyone's needs before your own," she held the box out again, "if anyone deserves to wear these it's you."

Marinette slowly reached out, her body numb as she absorbed everything Tikki had told her. _Is that really how people see me?_ "O-Okay Tikki, if you think I can do that, I guess I can give it a try," she took the earrings and put them in, "now what do I do?"

"To transform say, _Spots On_ , and when you want to transform back again say, _Spots off_ ," Tikki instructed, "This first time you transformed you grimoire will appear," she continued, "it won't disappear, however, when you transform back," she fixed Marinette with an earnest stare, "it would be best if you found a safe place to keep it. It would not be good for anyone to find it."

"Okay Tikki," Marinette stood and walked to the middle of her room. She stood in front of her full-length mirror. She looked at the kwami and took a deep breath, " _Spots on!"_

The room was once again bathed in pink light. Marinette felt a wave of energy wash over her from head to toe. When her vision cleared, she was shocked to see the woman staring back at her from the mirror.

She was wearing a white bodysuit that hugged her comfortably. Over that she wore a red tabard covered in black spots that reached down to mid shin, tied down around her waist by a similar red and black spotted belt with several pouches attached to is. She had high boots and long gloves that followed the same color scheme. On her shoulders and covering her head she wore a hooded mantle, red with black spots like the rest, that, as she turned a bit she noticed, hung down in back as split half cape.

The hood cast a shadow over her face obscuring it from view. All that was visible was a red glow where her right eve would be. She pulled down the hood to see what caused the odd glow and was surprised to see she was wearing a red and black domino mask with a red lens over the right eye.

As she looked herself over, she remembered that Tikki had said something about a grimoire. Since the word crossed he mind, floating in front of her, appeared large leather bound tome. On the cover was the same symbol that adorned the top of the jewelry box.

"Whoa," she said as she grabbed the book.


End file.
